The new bmw800gs

[scott j]

Has any one got one?.whats it like on/off road?.i,m sick of all the media hype every one saying its the best bla bla bla .a little biased i think as they surely get paid or some sort of kick back?.whats your thoughts on this bike.

[Taz]

Like the look of it. Think it would be a good replacement for my R1100GS but haven't any direct experience with one yet.

[warewolf]

For on-road performance, fellahs down here love the F800 (in all models) as much as they hated the F650.

Which reminds me, I should try to blag a test ride.

[XF650]

Saw a couple of GS800's in the Haka Pass on our way to the March Hare in the weekend, then caught up with the riders at the Rally. Turned out I knew one of them, who is a very experienced adv rider and has featured in adv ride stories in print media.
Anyway they were both rapt with the 800's and have no regrets buying them.

[scott j]

Hey thanks ,it looks good and maybe easeier to throw around offroad and back road stuff .maybe not as good on longer trips as a 1200gs but must be some where between a ktm 990 and a xt660 what do ya think

[bishxt]

Saw a couple of GS800's in the Haka Pass on our way to the March Hare in the weekend, then caught up with the riders at the Rally. Turned out I knew one of them, who is a very experienced adv rider and has featured in adv ride stories in print media.
Anyway they were both rapt with the 800's and have no regrets buying them.

The GS800 duo are both mates of mine and I've ridden with them (on my XT600) on gravel roads, tracks and metalled road. The bike definitely belies its apparent size and even with fairly road biased rubber they handled well in the conditions. I know one of them has clocked up about 7k already and is well happy with it.

Having had a blat round on one, I'd say the stock gears are too high for serious off road use and would definitely put a smaller sprocket on the front. It handled well when standing up or sitting and has serious (compared to my XT) amounts of power!:scooter:

[Underground]

Mountie's got one, and he's coming down here to get it dirty next month

[AllanB]

Bah ha I want one of these.

[jafar]

Has any one got one?.whats it like on/off road?.i,m sick of all the media hype every one saying its the best bla bla bla .a little biased i think as they surely get paid or some sort of kick back?.whats your thoughts on this bike.

$20,000.00:weep:

Thats a lota hooter for a 800cc bike:girlfight:

The bike mag's always talk the bikes up , that way the distributor will give them more..... Not that I'm cynical or anything:lol:

[Garry.W]

Rode one, liked it a lot. More like $25k by the time you put all the enduro bits on it - but worth it if that's what you want. Plenty of stick, spins up something wicked in gravel, particulalry 1st - 3rd gear, and could do with a smaller front sprocket for the tighter stuff. Not quite ready to swap the HP2 for one though :no:

[Mountie]

Yep Undeground is right back down to the wonderful South for some more back country riding. And yes riding my new steed the f800gs. The bike is impressive on the seal. Havent done too much on the back roads to date just dipped its feet at this stage. Only little niggles are the snatchy throttle and a small vibration between 120 - 130 ks. Had a software upgrade on the throttle which has sorted it some what. Cant wait to get more ks on it. Worth the money? I am relaxed with what I paid and what ill be using it for. Value for money over the enjoyment factor to be determined.

[awayatc]

Took one for a testride.......
shouldn't have..
I want one.
First Beemer that sounds like a motorbike to.....
No way would i be able to keep my licence for long on the road...
definitely need gravel....
Will wait a bit untill some appear on the market secondhand.....

[thepom]

Test rode one from the shop in chch,not impressed with his atitude but was with the bike,only niggles are the brake cylinder vibrates in your peripheral vision,no handguards and the silly indicators,most can be fixed with bolt on goodies apart from the indicators and I was well impressed but for 20 grand I ll be waiting a few years I think.

[scott j]

Yeah all'n'all a good bike but to expensive for what you get,maybe ktm 990 is a better bet ,not much more and you get larger tank,screen,engine.maybe for long distance adventure touring ,even being a little heavier could be more comfortable.

[Hitcher]

BMW aren't interested in selling bikes to New Zealanders. If they were, they'd have more dealers and sharper pricing.

[awayatc]

BMW are very arrogant indeed... (lack of) dealerships through NZ are a weak point.

[warewolf]

The problem is that BMW don't want to share the dealership with any other brand.

More dealers = higher costs, esp per bike sold
Sharper price = lower margins

Ain't gonna happen.

[Ruralman]

The problem is that BMW don't want to share the dealership with any other brand.

More dealers = higher costs, esp per bike sold
Sharper price = lower margins

Ain't gonna happen.

Well they should try a lot harder to get a dealership in Dunedin to service the southern area. I like the look of these bikes as well but stuffed if I will go to ChCh to buy a new bike (I would a second hand one) and be so far away from the dealer to sort out any niggles - or to get a test ride.

I would like to know how they rate as a pillion perch?? - they look to me that they would be great for the solo back country rides but not as good as the Tiger for a well loaded up, two up, trip??

[Kokopelli]

My wife has bought an F650GS/2, It's a neat bike. She can just manage it with a low seat and the forks slightly pushed through. We didn't want the low suspension model. She had the single with a low suspension and that bottomed out getting onto the Rainbow, not to mention the Old Man Range.

The new F650GS is a very capable gravel touring bike and that's all we were expecting. The engine is great. It's still got a clunky first gear. I would consider the The F800, but I already have an R800 and I don't mind dropping that.

I got to ride the F650 today, as both my other bikes are out of action. Just goes to show, that two bikes aren't enough. At least the R80 had the courtesy to break down within pushing distance from home. I guess the clutch rod is toast, but I've got a ride to go on, on the 25th of April :-).

[pampa]

I saw one today, it looket to me that the front suspension is not adjustable (pretty cheap if not), is that correct?

Cheers,
Pampa

[Kokopelli]

I saw one today, it looket to me that the front suspension is not adjustable (pretty cheap if not), is that correct?

Cheers,
Pampa

Yep, not adjustable.

[pampa]

I wonder why BM sells 'quality' bikes with cheap suspension. Mine has the cheapest forks that Marzocchi has, according to a guy on Advrider who call the factory ...



Yep, not adjustable.

[Kokopelli]

I wonder why BM sells 'quality' bikes with cheap suspension. Mine has the cheapest forks that Marzocchi has, according to a guy on Advrider who call the factory ...

To make more money? At least the stock suspension was easy to ditch on the 1150, but I guess good forks would be spendy.

[pampa]

They certainly would (don't even think on buy BM). The rear shock for my bike (not the an air one) is about US$900 and even the springs for the front are relatively expensive (original is not progressive either) ... unless u can by from another bike but then u need to make them fit which is OK but on not on a bike that's reasonable expensive ...



To make more money? At least the stock suspension was easy to ditch on the 1150, but I guess good forks would be spendy.

[Phreaky Phil]

My wife has bought an F650GS/2, It's a neat bike. She can just manage it with a low seat and the forks slightly pushed through. We didn't want the low suspension model. She had the single with a low suspension and that bottomed out getting onto the Rainbow, not to mention the Old Man Range.

The new F650GS is a very capable gravel touring bike and that's all we were expecting. The engine is great. It's still got a clunky first gear. I would consider the The F800, but I already have an R800 and I don't mind dropping that.

I got to ride the F650 today, as both my other bikes are out of action. Just goes to show, that two bikes aren't enough. At least the R80 had the courtesy to break down within pushing distance from home. I guess the clutch rod is toast, but I've got a ride to go on, on the 25th of April :-).
What went wrong with your R80 ?

[Kokopelli]

I am not sure yet. All of a sudden the cable went slack and the clutch would no longer disengage. The cable is fine of course. I've pulled the lever off the back of the transmission and removed the spring an that little plastic barrel. The rod won't budge.

If I have time I'll pull the swing arm on Saturday and possibly the transmission. I hope it wasn't the result of some oversight when I changed the clutch. It had been working rather well up until yesterday.

[Phreaky Phil]

I thought you may have the problem I had a few years back where my clutch did the same thing. On a hot day my clutch disengaged then stuck in that position. After some fidling, and may be because it cooled down it released. Then stuck again !!!! Once I got it unstuck I rode home without using it. The plastic plug thingys are known to swell slightly and cause sticking. I had a whisker machined off mine and havent had a problem since. If the push rod part of yours is jammed then it may be something more sinister

[Kokopelli]

I've just spent the day working on the R80GS. I had the transmission out again, but everything looked fine. The clutch rod was ok. The little barrel with the bearing showed signs of wear and its little housing had a slight step worn into the sidewall. The was a bit of gunk in the barrel housing. I assume that came from the barrel itself, as it must have been spinning inside the housing. As I had a new clutch cable, I installed that on assembly.

Well, everything is up and running again. The clutch lever takes more force to pull than it needed before, but it does its job. I guess I'll have to have a bit of faith in the clutch, while doing the 42nd again